A jilted thug told his ex to ‘stop being so mardy’ as he poured Vimto over her, punched her and stood in her way so she couldn’t leave. Jake Rawlinson refused to accept his relationship with the woman was over and subjected her to abuse and violence.
In one attack he grabbed her by the neck and punched her as she packed a bag to leave. And in another he threw fizzy drinks over her before hauling a clothes horse at her. As she wept he told her to ‘stop being so mardy’.
Rawlinson, 27, pleaded guilty to assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and a further offence of stalking, in which he’d called the woman over 130 times and demanded she drop the charges against him.
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Today (April 26) he was jailed for three years as a judge told him: “Stay away from her”.
Niamh Ingham, prosecuting, said Rawlinson and the woman were in an on-off ‘toxic’ relationship for eight years before it officially ended in May 2021. He was ‘reluctant’ to accept it was over, causing her to remain under his control.
During an argument in May last year he grabbed her by the neck with his hand and squeezed it to the point his nails dug into her skin. She managed to get free of his grip and began packing a bag, but he dragged her back into the room and punched her to her leg.
On October 15 that same year, she went round to his address to talk to him about their relationship. They began to row, during which Rawlinson threw fizzy Vimto over her four times.
“He grabbed an iron maiden and threw it at her causing pain and bruising to her elbow,” Ms Ingham said. “He stood in her face and in an attempt to get away, she pushed him.
“In response, he pushed her and punched her in the ribs causing them to bruise. As she started crying he told her to ‘stop being so mardy’.”
Rawlinson remained standing in her way shouting abuse at her and punched her to her buttocks, the court heard.
He then started to damage the room, and she threatened to call the police if he didn’t stop. After she left he called the police himself.
The woman blocked his number and blocked him on social media, but over the course of five days he called her 130 times from ‘No Caller ID’. She unblocked him once to tell him that the relationship was ‘completely over’, telling him to get help.
In turn he asked her to prove where she was.
In further calls he threatened to ‘blitz’ her house and ‘get [her] kids taken off her’ if she didn’t drop the charges. He also turned up at her address, demanding she stop the prosecution.
In a statement, the woman said she has since moved to a women’s sanctuary with her children, which has meant she has had to move away from her family.
“This made me feel like a failure as I kept taking him back and forgiving him but he kept letting me down,” she said. “It’s completely destroyed me.”
“I felt unsafe in my own home and I was constantly walking on eggshells. Over time he pushed me to breaking point, I would break down in tears, and felt like I had no option but to call the police.”
Rawlinson was said to have previous convictions for offences including criminal damage to a police van which was responding to a call by the woman.
Nicholas Askins, defending, said his client ‘accepts entirely’ that the relationship is over, adding that he ‘accepts his wrongdoing’.
He said that Rawlinson was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age and has been prescribed antidepressants for anxiety.
“The relationship became marred by events in May 2021 when the defendant's car was set on fire and the windows were put through,” Mr Askins said.
“That is no excuse for his behaviour towards her, but there was unusual pressure on him. He was not at his best.”
Sentencing, Judge Hilary Manley told him: “The effect on her has been profound. Thankfully [after] getting away from you, she now sees the full picture of your manipulative, controlling and abusive behaviour, and to stay in a relationship with you would mean to continue to subject herself to this sort of toxic behaviour.
“Stay away from her.”
Rawlinson, of Marabel Close, was jailed for three years for offences of assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and stalking with intent to cause fear of violence.
He was also made subject of a restraining order, banning him from contacting the woman for five years.
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